Touching The Sky
by Svinorita
Summary: There are lots of "firsts" in life. First kiss, first love...perhaps even first time on a plane! When the opportunity arises for Riley to visit an old friend back in Minnesota, will there be clear skies ahead or will there be some surprises along the way? Short story dedicated to jloew1993.
1. Rocket to the Stars

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Hi everyone! Just a few words before I begin this new short story…**

 **Back when I was writing "Mall-A-Palooza", I received a message from** _ **jloew1993**_ **who put forth the suggestion that it would be a nice idea to write a story about Riley's first time on an airplane. I liked the idea immediately and I've been thinking of possible scenarios for such a story for a little while now…**

 **There are still two more chapters left to go in "Pieces of an Emotional Puzzle" and since I haven't been writing as much lately, I initially put the idea for this story on hold. But after giving it some thought, I feel like NOW is the right time to try writing this new story! I guess you could say that I need a bit of a distraction from "Pieces of an Emotional Puzzle" and try writing something a little lighter because at the moment, my own reality is pretty dark and tragic too…**

 **Some of you may know that I have been stuck in a bit of a sadness spiral lately. One of my friends is currently battling cancer. He is only 28 years old and his prognosis is not looking very good :(** **On top of this, two of the biggest drama queens in my family (my horrible aunt and selfish grandmother) have been causing a lot of unnecessary…well dramas.**

 **Since I am not in a happy place right now, I need to try writing a more cheerful story than "Pieces of an Emotional Puzzle" for a change of pace! This will be a short 2-chapter story and afterwards I promise I will finish the other story too. I also have some ideas for a few other short stories that I will try putting together whenever I get the chance.**

 **Just one more thing before I start. I want to make it clear that this story is NOT an outright request. Some of you have probably seen on my profile that I cannot commit myself to requests at the moment and that will remain so for quite some time. This was just an idea that** _ **jloew1993**_ **offered to share with me a while back and I wanted to express my thanks. If you're reading this** _ **jloew1993,**_ **I hope you don't mind me taking on your suggestion :)**

 **I am writing this story as my way of saying thank you to** _ **jloew1993**_ **for all his support and encouragement! It may not be the greatest masterpiece, but I have written it from my heart all the same :)**

 **I hope the rest of you wonderful readers and dear friends also enjoy this little story! Please feel free to read on and come on this journey through the sky with Riley and her Emotions :)**

 **Svinorita.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1 – Rocket to the Stars.**

It was a warm summer afternoon in San Francisco and the Andersen household was a beehive of activity. Riley and her Mom were both buzzing from room to room, each busily packing and making final preparations for the exciting journey that lay ahead of them.

Bill meanwhile, was lounging around on the sofa in his white t-shirt and red shorts, watching TV as though he had all the time in the world. Then again, he wouldn't be joining his girls on their little trip tonight, so he could afford to take it easy and relax. He still had a couple of hours to unwind before he needed to chauffeur them to the airport.

Besides, both Riley and Jill seemed perfectly content to pack their own luggage without his help. Or rather _hindrance_ as Jill would have phrased it…

Up in her room, Riley felt a rush of excitement as she went about packing an open suitcase that was sitting on her bed. She had been feeling pumped about this trip for days now and tonight it was finally going to happen! She was going back to Minnesota to visit her best friend Meg and as if that wasn't exciting enough, she was also going on a plane for the very first time in her life!

Riley smiled to herself as she remembered how her mother had received a birthday invitation last week from Julie; one of her closest friends who lived back in Minnesota. Julie was about to celebrate her 40th birthday this Saturday and she wanted Jill to fly out and come to her party so they could catch up with one another.

Jill agreed to go at once. It had been over two years since the Andersen family had moved to San Francisco and she was very eager to see her old friend again!

As soon as Riley found out that her Mom was going back to Minnesota for a few days, she had begged to come along too. She was dying to see her best friend Meg and her old neighborhood. I mean come on! Riley and Meg haven't seen each other in person for two years and there was so much to talk about!

At first, Riley was worried that her Mom wouldn't let her come along. After all, Julie had specifically invited Jill to her birthday party and she would only be staying for three days.

But thankfully, her Dad made things easier for her when he turned to his wife and suggested casually, "Hon? Why don't you take Riley to Minnesota with you? I bet she's dying to see Meg…"

Riley had given her Mom her most irresistible puppy-dog eyes, her voice filled with longing as she'd asked, "Oh please Mom! Can I come? I'd do anything to see Meg again!"

"Why of course you can come with me Sweetheart!" Jill had said with a chuckle and scooped Riley into a hug. "I am going to visit my best friend, so it's only fair that you can see yours too!"

Now the big day had finally arrived! Upstairs, Riley and Jill were both finishing up with their packing and in less than four hours, they would be sitting on a plane bound for Minnesota…

XXX

Meanwhile, Riley's Headquarters resembled a beehive of activity as well. Joy was acting like a happy little Queen Bee as she pressed buttons and pushed levers on the console, all the while humming a catchy _Boney-M_ tune under her breath enthusiastically.

" _Hooray! Hooray! It's a holi-holiday!"_

Joy burst out laughing exuberantly as she pushed a few more buttons before whirling around to face her fellow Emotions. "Oh, isn't this exciting guys?! We're going back to Minnesota to see Meg and visit all our favorite places! And best of all, we're going on an actual airplane!"

Joy laughed again and leapt into the air, a dreamy expression on her radiant yellow face as she added happily, "We'll be up there with all those fluffy white clouds and maybe we'll even get to see some stars up close!"

Disgust rolled her eyes impatiently at her leader's antics. She stepped up to the console and took charge, commenting dryly as she focused on the monitor intently. "Oh please Joy! Tone down your excitement for a minute! I need to make sure Riley is packing all the right shoes, dresses and accessories…"

Suddenly, a loud growl from Anger interrupted Disgust and she shot an irritated glare at her red co-worker.

"BEANPOLE! WILL YOU STOP CHATTERING YOUR TEETH?!" Anger snapped from the couch, his head beginning to smolder and his stubby hands crumpling the newspaper he had been reading only moments earlier.

"I CAN'T CONCENTRATE ON READING MY PAPER WITH YOUR INSESSANT WHIMPERING AND TEETH CLACKING!" Anger roared, the fury in his voice becoming almost palpable.

Slowly, the other Emotions turned to look at Fear one by one. The nervous Emotion was huddled in a corner beside the Mind Manual shelves. He stared back at the others with wide-eyed panic, his slender chest rising and falling rapidly as he began hyperventilating which also made his whole body to shake uncontrollably.

It took Fear several moments to find the courage to speak and when he finally did, he ended up stuttering pretty badly. "A-are a-a-all of you cra-crazy? W-why are y-you so ex-excited ab-out t-this?!"

Fear made a desperate sound in the back of his throat that sounded like a strangled sob and gestured at the monitor with a trembling arm. "We are going to be shot into the sky like a rocket to the stars! Where do I even begin about what could possibly go wrong?!"

The other Emotions exchanged weary looks as though they were thinking: _Great! Here we go again…_

Fear waved his arms over his head in exasperation. "I mean if humans were _meant_ to fly, they would be born with wings!" He pointed out shrilly.

"Give me a break Beanpole!" Anger thundered from the sofa furiously. "It's not a rocket you moron! It's a plane!"

Disgust folded her arms over her chest and added sassily, "People also don't have gills and mermaid tails, but they still travel through the sea…"

Before anyone else could comment, Sadness spoke up tearfully. "Stop it you guys! Can't you see you're only making Fear even more upset?"

The blue Emotion pointed to her purple colleague, who looked on the verge of passing out from fright.

Sadness took a deep breath and stated gloomily, "If anyone is upset around here, it makes me feel ten times sadder than usual!"

Disgust and Anger looked down guiltily as Sadness collapsed to the floor in a heap and started crying helplessly. Joy gave her a sympathetic look before stepping up to Fear and offering a hand to her shivering co-worker.

"Come with me to the kitchen Fear. I think we could all use a nice relaxing cup of tea and nobody knows how to make it better than you!" Joy said with a little smile of encouragement.

Fear gave a weak smile in return and took his yellow co-worker's hand hesitantly as he allowed her to lead him towards the kitchen.

XXX

"Bill honey? Do you know where I left Julie's birthday card? I can't seem to find it anywhere." Jill called from the bedroom. She paused her packing and glanced around the room, tapping her chin with a finger as she tried to remember where she placed Julie's card last night after she had finished writing her a birthday message.

"You've probably already packed it Jilly." Bill offered helpfully from the lounge room.

Suddenly his voice took on a slightly nervous tone and he added half-jokingly, "You girls sure have been packing for a long time now. I hope you're not planning on leaving me behind permanently or something…?"

Despite fretting about Julie's missing birthday card, Jill couldn't help cracking a smile at Bill's worried observation.

"Don't be silly! How could we possibly leave you? You're so handsome, charming and caring…" Jill assured him before suppressing a snort of amusement and adding more quietly, "…in addition to being annoying, lazy and a royal pain in the butt…"

"Hey! I heard that and it sure stings Jilly-Bee!" Bill yelled from downstairs, his voice full of mock-hurt. Then he deliberately turned up the volume on the TV remote just to annoy his wife and daughter.

Up in her room, Riley froze in the middle of folding her favorite purple shirt. She could hear the man's voice from the TV clearly and she found herself chilled to the core at what he was saying:

" _Flight 618 from Honolulu to Sydney lost contact with air traffic control less than 40 minutes after takeoff. The air controllers in charge of monitoring the flight say that it's almost as if the aircraft has vanished into thin air or disappeared into the depths of the Pacific Ocean. There are grave fears for all 266 passengers and crew on board…"_

Riley dropped the clothes she had been in the process of packing and dashed out of her room. She ran down the stairs and headed for the lounge room where her Dad was watching TV.

"Dad! What on earth are you watching?!" She demanded with an anxious look on her face.

"Oh, it's just _Air Crash Investigation_ Sweetie." Bill replied innocently.

He shrugged casually and turned down the volume slightly so he didn't have to shout to be heard. "Why do you ask?"

"Seriously Dad?!" Riley said with exasperation. She pointed to the TV then to herself and reminded him nervously, "That's just what Mom and I want to hear right now! Have you forgotten that we're about to go on a plane today?!"

Riley turned towards the door, her voice sounding shaky as she inquired hesitantly, "Mom! We're going to be alright aren't we?! I'm starting to feel a little freaked out…"

There was a growl of frustration from upstairs and moments later, Jill marched into the lounge room looking decidedly flustered.

"Nice going Mister!" She snapped, yanking the remote out of Bill's hand and switching off the TV crossly.

"Hey! I was watching that!" Bill protested, his eyes narrowed at Jill challengingly.

Jill put her hands on her hips and challenged back adamantly. "Can't you see that you're scaring Riley? This is her first trip on a plane and that's not the sort of information we want stuck in our minds right now!"

Bill's expression softened at once as he realized his mistake. Chuckling to himself sheepishly, he got up and gave Riley an apologetic smile before pulling her into a warm fatherly hug.

"Aw, I promise nothing like that is going to happen to you and Mom Monkey!" Bill whispered, ruffling Riley's hair playfully as he spoke. "First of all, you'll be going on a smaller plane. You won't be flying over the Pacific, it's just a short domestic flight!"

Riley smiled and hugged her Dad back thankfully. She felt all her former apprehension melting away as she allowed herself to draw comfort from him and listen to his reassuring words.

Bill seemed rather pleased with himself and his smile grew broader as he thought of the perfect way to conclude this touching father/daughter bonding moment…

"Just remember Sweetheart that if you start feeling scared at any point during your flight, remind yourself that your first time on a plane is really not much different than your first time on a bike. You may fall now and then, but you just pick yourself up and keep going…"

"DAD!" Riley screamed and pulled back out of Bill's embrace. Her expression was mortified as she stared at him in disbelief.

Jill groaned and kicked her husband not-so-gently in the shin.

"Ow! What was that for Jilly?!" Bill protested, his eyes full of shock as he stared at his wife like a wounded animal.

Jill folded her arms and spoke in a dangerously level voice. "If you carry on like this Mister, we may not come back from Minnesota after all! We'll stay there and you can send the rest of our stuff over later!"

Bill went pale. A nervous smile spread across his face as he ventured hesitantly, "You're joking right, Honey…?"

Jill's only response was a sly smirk. Then she turned to Riley and gave her a knowing wink before both went upstairs to finish their packing.

XXX

Once they arrived at the airport two hours later, Riley was mesmerized by all the hustle and bustle around her. There were long queues of people waiting to check in their luggage as well as many jetlagged travelers who shuffled through the Arrivals Terminal looking like they just wanted a hot shower and a decent night's sleep. Everywhere she looked, Riley saw billboards and screens advertising flights and destinations all over the world and when she looked outside, she saw planes with different colors and logos on their tails taking-off and landing every few minutes.

As soon as Riley and her Mom checked in their luggage, they headed to the Departures Lounge to wait to board their flight. Throughout the whole time they were waiting, Bill put on quite a show of self-pity, his body language and expression seeming to say: _"Poor me! What am I supposed to do without my girls for 3 whole days…?"_

Just as the announcer called for all passengers to start boarding the plane, Bill made one last desperate plea to his wife and daughter as they joined the line and prepared to show the lady at the boarding gate their tickets and passports.

"Promise that you'll come back home to me girls!" Bill begged while wrapping his arms around Riley and Jill in a huge farewell hug.

"We'll see…" Jill mumbled under her breath irritably. But she returned her husband's hug with equal passion all the same.

Then she and Riley said their goodbyes and boarded the plane.

XXX

When they were finally in their seats aboard the plane, Riley started feeling really nervous. She kept thinking about what her Dad had said about her first time on a plane being like the first time on a bike and honestly, she didn't find that piece of fatherly wisdom very soothing to her nerves right now!

Riley felt her heart beating fast with anticipation as she gazed out the window at the runway outside. Her hands were starting to sweat like crazy and she was gasping for air without even realizing it…

From beside her, Jill noticed her daughter's unease and leaned over, enveloping her in a reassuring hug. "We'll be okay Sweetie. I know it can scary flying for the first time, but I promise you that everything will turn out fine."

Riley took a few deep breaths and tried to swallow back her nerves.

"Yeah…okay…" She replied quietly.

Jill smiled and whispered in a soothing voice, "Atta girl! Now put on your seatbelt and have some gum. It will help unblock your ears during takeoff."

Jill handed Riley a piece of gum and she took it with trembling fingers. Just as she unwrapped the gum and popped it into her mouth, she felt the plane move forward as it began taxiing down the runway.

As the plane gradually built up speed and prepared to takeoff, Riley closed her eyes and clasped her Mom's hand tightly. Her heart was pounding so fast that she could hear it echoing in her ears and just before the landing gears left the ground and the plane lifted into the sky, a single thought flashed through her mind:

 _Here we go…_

XXX

Up in Headquarters, Joy was skipping around the console in a state of glee. "Wheee! Here we go guys! I'm so excited!"

"Personally, I can't wait until we land." Disgust commented with a bored expression on her pretty green face. "Then we can check out some shops at the airport while we're waiting to collect our luggage."

Anger yawned loudly from the couch and tossed his newspaper aside in disinterest. "They'll probably sleep through the whole flight. In fact, I might do the same thing!"

Sadness took out a handkerchief from her pocket and dabbed at the tears that were welling up in the corners of her eyes. "I feel like I'm going to slip into another sadness spiral! We're going back to Minnesota where everything began…"

A loud sob escaped from Sadness' throat and she added tearfully, "It's going to be so sad when we visit all those familiar places from Riley's childhood only to have to leave it all again in a few days…"

Suddenly the sound of a ceramic mug shattering somewhere behind them made the other Emotions flinch from surprise. Deep down everyone knew that Fear must have dropped his tea mug and one by one, they all turned to look at their purple co-worker with varying expressions of irritation of their faces.

Fear was standing near the Core Memory Holder, pieces of broken ceramic strewn around his feet all that remained of his favorite tea mug. He was staring at the monitor as though frozen in a trance of terror, his complexion almost white as he shivered like a sapling caught in a gale.

Ignoring the looks he was receiving from the other Emotions, Fear started ranting in a small panicky voice, "Oh no! W-we are actually do-doing it! We're flying and it's just like I've said all along! We've been shot into the sky like a rocket to the stars…"

 **"IT'S A PLANE BEANPOLE!"** Anger yelled irately as flames erupted from the top of his head, causing the others to take an instinctive step back from their fiery colleague.

But Fear didn't seem to hear him. He felt a familiar weakness spread throughout his body as his eyes rolled back into his head. Moments later, he crumpled to the floor and fainted beside his shattered tea mug.


	2. Are We There Yet?

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

 **Before I get started on this second chapter, I'd like to say thank you so much to everyone for reading this short story! I ended the previous chapter with the plane taking off and now we will find out how the rest of Riley's first flight went. I can assure you that it was full of surprises and Riley will have a lot to talk about with Meg when they see each other :)**

 **But first things first! Those of you who are familiar with my other stories, know that I always take a moment to say a personal thank you to everyone for their kind reviews in the final chapter of any story I write (and since this is a 2-chapter story, that means thanking everybody now!)**

 **Starting with the first person to review and ending with the most recent, I'd like to show my gratitude to the following people:**

 _ **jloew1993**_ **\- Thank you for sharing your idea with me! This story wouldn't have happened without your suggestion and I hope you enjoyed what I managed to come up with! I'd also like to say thank you on behalf of my friend who is battling cancer for your kind words and sympathy :)**

 _ **AirlineFlyer**_ **– Thank you for the lovely review and for choosing to follow this story! I am aware that the airline industry is one of your interests and I hope I was able to make this story appear as realistic as possible, since that's something I am always striving to do with all my stories! Once again, I'd like to say thank you on behalf of my friend for your sympathy and goodwill :)**

 _ **Orangebird124**_ **– Thank you for the encouragement and for trying to cheer me up! I am glad you were enjoying this short story and I'd also like to thank you on behalf of my friend for your kindness! He really appreciates all the well-wishes that you and many others have shown towards him in these hard times :)**

 _ **Pearl Bramble of Willowbottom**_ **– Thank you for that heartwarming little review! Believe me, I know exactly what you mean my friend and I've often wanted to do the same :)**

 _ **Tripledent**_ **– Thank you for the inspiring review my friend! Your feedback always brings a smile to my face and I love the creativity and thought you put into constructing your reviews :)**

 **In addition to the reviewers mentioned above, I'd also like to extend my thanks to** _ **Skrillexia**_ **for choosing to favorite/follow this story :)**

 **Finally, thank you to all the silent readers around the world for coming on this journey with me! I hope you all enjoyed this short flight because we're in for one LONG (and rather eventful) chapter ahead!**

 **So without further ado, feel free to read on! Fasten your seatbelts everyone and enjoy the rest of this flight with Riley and her Emotions :)**

 **Svinorita.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2 – Are We There Yet?**

Riley kept her eyes tightly closed as the plane climbed higher and higher into the sky. She felt her ears blocking due to the rapid change in air pressure and remembering her mom's advice, she started chewing the gum Jill had given her in a desperate attempt to relieve the discomfort.

As the plane continued ascending, Riley gripped her mother's hand more firmly. She felt a wave of nausea rising from her stomach into the back of her throat and she kept telling herself frantically, _"Please! I don't wanna be sick! I don't wanna be sick…"_

After a few minutes, the plane reached cruising altitude and Riley felt her mom's reassuring hand patting her on the right arm gently.

"It's okay Sweetheart, you can open your eyes now. We're up in the air!" Jill whispered soothingly. "Take a look at all those lovely clouds outside!"

Riley opened her eyes and gave a loud exclamation as the pressure inside her ears finally equalized with an unpleasant popping sound.

"Ouch! I just felt my ears pop!"

Jill smiled at her daughter sympathetically. "See? I told you there was nothing to it Sweetie!"

"Now we can sit back and enjoy our flight." Jill offered with a contented sigh.

Riley nodded and gave her mom a nervous smile. Then she turned her head and looked out the window at the clouds drifting serenely by. Gradually, she started to feel a bit more relaxed and she let out a small sigh of relief.

" _Okay. We've passed one hurdle and it wasn't so bad…"_ Riley mused as she quickly took stock of her surroundings. During takeoff, she had heard a whole chorus of babies screaming and crying throughout the plane like a little infant acapella. Now that the plane had leveled out and the air pressure inside the cabin had stabilized, most of the babies on board had settled down…apart from the occasional soft mewling of an exceptionally unhappy baby towards the front of the plane somewhere.

Suddenly, Riley heard a little boy in the seat directly behind hers asking his mom impatiently, "Mommy? Are we there yet?"

"Not yet honey. We're in the air now and we're going to fly like birds for a while." The boy's mother replied gently.

Riley glanced at her mom and they both smiled at the comment. Both found the mother's attempt at reassuring her little boy endearing.

Nevertheless, Riley couldn't help thinking to herself, _"I kind of wish we_ _ **were**_ _already there…"_

XXX

Up in Headquarters, Joy was skipping around the console and laughing as she relished this new and exhilarating sensation of flying in an airplane for the very first time.

"This is so exciting! We're flying through the sky just like birds or butterflies and it feels amazing!" She exclaimed with unbridled enthusiasm.

Anger grunted from beside the console before unleashing an exaggerated yawn of boredom.

"I still think they'll end up sleeping through the majority of the flight." He commented with a shrug. Then a hopeful smile suddenly appeared on his face and he added with more enthusiasm, "But before that, they'll probably be offered something to eat from the flight attendants and I could sure go for a snack myself right now!"

Anger paused and licked his lips with anticipation as he recalled, "I think I saw some chili con carne leftovers in the fridge while I was making myself coffee this morning and since this is shaping up to be a boring uneventful flight, I might just go and finish that off now!"

The red Emotion had a hungry glint in his amber eyes as he turned towards the kitchen eagerly. His mood had improved significantly at the prospect of eating the spicy leftovers!

But he also didn't want to appear greedy in front of his co-workers, so he added reluctantly, "Anyone care to join me?"

"Oh please! Just the idea of MB makes me want to barf!" Disgust protested, crinkling her nose in distaste and turning a shade greener.

Anger shot her an irritated look. "What does my chili con carne have to do with MB?! You have Mental Blocks all the time…unless someone is talking about fashion or beauty!"

Disgust rolled her eyes at her red co-worker. "I meant _meat and beans_ stupid!" She corrected with frustration in her voice.

Suddenly, Disgust felt a familiar nauseating sensation rising into her throat and she covered her mouth with one hand before adding hurriedly, "Just the thought of it leaves a bad taste in my mouth! I need to go brush my teeth again and refresh my makeup immediately!"

Anger watched his green colleague with a frown as she hurried out of the room and disappeared down the hall into the bathroom.

"Yeah whatever…" He grumbled and threw an annoyed glance at Fear who was whimpering pitifully from the sofa.

"It looks like Beanpole is in another one of _his_ Mental Blocks right now!" Anger remarked coldly. The grouchy Emotion mumbled something under his breath and marched into the kitchen without waiting for a reply.

"Oh Anger! Leave him alone…" Sadness lamented from beside her traumatized purple co-worker.

Fear was curled up in the fetal position on the sofa next to Sadness, his eyes wide and staring blankly into space as his whole body shook like a leaf in the wind. He had a half-crazed expression on his face and he kept repeating through chattering teeth, "We're going to die, we're going to die, we're going to die…"

"Shhh! Don't say that Fear! You're making me feel sad…" Sadness hiccupped as a fresh wave of sorrow washed over her and she started sobbing helplessly.

Joy looked at the two Emotions with pity before turning her attention back to the monitor to see what Riley was getting up to…

XXX

Meanwhile, Riley was fidgeting in her seat restlessly. She had already looked through all the brochures and information booklets that were in the pocket on the back of the seat in front of her. Then she watched the clouds through the window for a while but eventually, even that became boring.

She glanced at her mother and saw that Jill was reading a book contentedly, so Riley decided not to disturb her. Suddenly, Riley felt the little boy sitting behind her kicking the back of her seat and asking his mom for the hundred and fiftieth time, "Mommy! Are we there yet?!"

Riley gritted her teeth and groaned in frustration. Sure, it was cute the first couple of times she had heard the little boy pestering his mother with that question. But by now, Riley was getting seriously annoyed! She felt sorry for the kid's poor mom who kept telling her impatient son, "No, not yet honey. Why don't you do some coloring or try to get some sleep? Momma is feeling very tired darling…"

As they neared the second hour into their flight, Riley was feeling too distracted to try reading or listening to music. So she decided to observe some of her fellow passengers to help pass the time and play a new mental game she invented just now: _Spot the Cutie!_

Riley started scoping out the people around her and before long, her eyes zeroed in on a guy sitting a few rows in front of her with spiky blonde hair. Riley stared at him and began silently willing him to turn around so she could rate him on his level of cuteness!

Finally, she got her wish and after a couple of minutes, the blonde-haired guy glanced behind him, giving Riley enough time to get a decent look at his face. Riley blinked and rubbed her eyes in disbelief as she noted his facial features and thought, _"Wow! He looks a lot like a younger, blonde version of my dad!"_

Surely enough, the man _did_ bear a striking resemblance to Bill…he even sported a bushy moustache just like Bill's (although his was blonde instead of dark brown) and on closer inspection, Riley realized that he wasn't as young as she had originally thought…

Riley shook her head and let her eyes wander over the faces of the other passengers once more. All of a sudden, she unintentionally locked gazes with a girl sitting two rows in front of her and she gave a startled gasp. Riley felt like the girl was staring straight into her eyes and what's more, she was _smiling_ at her!

Riley had to admit that the girl was attractive in a gothic punkish kind of way: the right side of her head was closely shaved while she had long, jet black hair on the left side with a few purple streaks. Her right earlobe was covered in piercings and she had what appeared to be a small tattoo of a bird (a sparrow maybe?) towards the back of her neck. Her nose was also pierced and she had dark eyeliner and mascara around her blue eyes.

Riley saw that the girl was wearing a black leather jacket with a rainbow-striped shirt underneath which had some words on it, but she couldn't see all the writing from where she was sitting. All she could make out clearly were the words: **_Show Your True…_**

The girl held eye-contact with Riley for several seconds and smiled mysteriously. After a little while, Riley began feeling uncomfortable and she looked away hastily. Then she turned in her seat and started checking out the people sitting in the rows behind her.

Suddenly, Riley's heart skipped a beat and she felt like she had been struck by lightning as her eyes settled on a breathtakingly handsome guy a few rows further down.

 _Hello handsome…!_ Riley thought dreamily. There was no question in her mind that this beautiful young man definitely had the X Factor she had been looking for! He was wearing dark leather pants with a gray top and he had short dark brown hair that was neatly-styled. His skin was tanned to perfection (almost sun kissed) and he had adorable dimples in his cheeks when he smiled.

Then something amazing happened…

It was almost as if he _felt_ Riley's eyes on him because the gorgeous guy looked her way and gave her a stunning smile!

Riley felt like that smile lit up the whole plane! She knew she could definitely lose herself in those beautiful hazel-colored eyes forever…

Riley's cheeks turned bright red as she felt herself blushing and she quickly averted her eyes from his. She turned around and slid back in her seat, suddenly feeling very hot and embarrassed. Unfortunately, Jill chose that exact moment to glance up from her book and look at her daughter.

"Riley! Are you okay sweetheart? You've gone really red!" Jill asked with concern.

Riley felt herself blushing even more as she gave her mom a coy smile and said, "I'm fine mom! I'm just feeling a little bit hot all of a sudden…"

Before she could finish speaking, the little boy sitting behind her kicked the back of her seat and complained in an increasingly whining voice, "Mom! Are we there yet?!"

The boy's mother let out a tired sigh before answering as patiently as she could, "Not yet honey! Look! The flight attendants are about to bring us some food now…"

Riley and Jill looked at each other and burst out laughing. For once, Riley was grateful that the kid was being a nuisance and complaining about how long the flight was taking.

" _I can't believe I was actually saved from complete embarrassment by an annoying little toddler!"_ Riley thought with a huge sense of relief.

XXX

All five Emotions were gathered around the console and watching the monitor quietly…apart from the constant chattering of Fear's teeth and the occasional sniffle from Sadness.

Suddenly the unmistakable clinking sound of food trolleys rolling down the aisles piqued Anger's interest and his face lit up with anticipation.

"Finally! Something worth watching is about to happen on this lame flight! Let's see what delicious goodies are on offer for Riley tonight…" Anger wondered with mounting excitement.

The other Emotions watched and listened curiously as the flight attendants began serving drinks to the passengers. They offered everything from tea and coffee, to juice, water and even wine which some of the passengers gladly accepted. Much to everyone's surprise, Jill decided to order a glass of red wine herself.

The Emotions watched with uncertainty as Jill told Riley in a hushed voice, "Let this be our little secret sweetheart. I would like to sleep for the remainder of this flight and I think this will do the trick!"

Jill held up the glass of wine admirably before continuing in a whisper, "I would appreciate it if you don't mention anything about this to your father or he'll never let me hear the end of it!"

Riley's expression slowly turned from shock to understanding. Finally, she gave a small shrug and made a simple promise to her mom.

"Sure mom. No problem."

Once all the drinks had been handed out, the flight attendants started offering a range of snacks and sandwiches to the passengers.

Inside headquarters, Anger's anticipation slowly turned to disappointment as he watched the flight attendants passing around bags of nuts, sandwiches and something that looked a lot like hospital food in small plastic trays.

"Come on! You call THAT food?! Where's the _real_ food already?!" The red Emotion grumbled impatiently, his frown deepening and the top of his head beginning to smolder and steam.

"Well for your information, sandwiches _are_ food Brainiac!" Disgust remarked sarcastically. She raised an eyebrow at her red co-worker and prompted, "What were you expecting anyway? That they were going to serve people burgers, steaks, lasagnas or chili con carne?!"

Anger growled and glared at the green Emotion furiously, his head beginning to glow orange as he threatened to burst into flames. Disgust however, was undeterred and continued with her typical sassy attitude, "I mean give me a break! If they actually served food like that, then half the people on the plane would probably end up being sick and the other half would be belching or passing wind throughout the rest of the flight! You are aware that the air inside the plane is recirculated…"

All of a sudden, Disgust trailed off and crinkled her nose in…well disgust as she detected a really foul odor in the room.

"Pee-ew! What is that revolting smell?!"

The other Emotions also noticed the terrible smell and everyone started groaning and covering their noses as they looked around and tried to locate the source the offending stench. Everyone that is except for Anger, who went a few shades redder and avoided making eye-contact with anyone…

Disgust's eyes widened in revelation. She grabbed a cushion from the sofa and threw it at her red co-worker as hard as she could before shrieking, "IT WAS YOU?! YOU FARTED! THAT'S SO DISGUSTING!"

"Uh…sorry guys…" Anger mumbled with embarrassment. Still avoiding eye-contact with the others, he rubbed the back of his head with one hand and added defensively, "It's the chili con carne I ate earlier!"

"That's exactly my point you filthy little Emotion! Ah! I can't stand it anymore! I need to get out of here!" Disgust screamed and ran out of the room as fast as she could.

Joy shot a disapproving glance at Anger and with one hand still covering her nose, quickly followed Disgust out of the control room. Sadness shuffled along behind her yellow co-worker, sobbing as tears streamed from her eyes (whether from sorrow or as a result of the noxious gas in the room, it wasn't quite clear.)

Fear made a retching sound and mumbled nauseously, "I think I'm going to be sick!"

With that, he dashed towards the bathroom urgently and left Anger standing alone at the console.

"Oh well…" Anger grunted with a shrug. "I can handle things on my own from here!"

The red Emotion pulled up a chair and made himself comfortable at the controls while the others waited for the air to clear inside the main room.

XXX

As soon as Riley and her mom finished their sandwiches and drinks, Jill removed her glasses and put them into their case. Then she took out some eye shades from her purse and put them over her eyes as she settled back in her seat.

"Okay sweetie. I'm going to try to get some sleep now." Jill let out a small giggle and added with a pleased smile, "I think that glass of red wine did the trick after all!"

"Maybe you should try to get some rest too sweetheart?" Jill suggested gently.

Riley shook her head and responded distractedly, "You rest if you want to mom. Maybe I'll try a little later…"

But even as she said it, Riley doubted she would be getting any sleep during this flight. She was feeling rather restless and far from sleepy! She turned and looked out the window at the night sky. They had left San Francisco airport just after 6:30 PM and it was well and truly dark outside by now. Riley saw a few stars from her window as well as small lights flickering on the plane's wing, but after a few minutes she started feeling bored again…

Suddenly a sheepish smile appeared on her lips as Riley thought to herself, _"Time to see what that gorgeous Dream Boy in the leather pants is doing…"_

Riley turned in her seat and looked back at the handsome young man sitting a few rows behind her. He was smiling and talking to someone in the seat beside him, but Riley couldn't see who it was from her position.

" _Oh God! He's so handsome!"_ Riley mused dreamily. The longer she watched him, Riley began to get the sense that she had seen him somewhere before…

" _Of course! He must be famous!"_ Riley convinced herself excitedly. _"An ordinary person wouldn't be wearing leather pants on a plane! They don't look like the most comfortable choice of wardrobe on a flight…"_

Just then, Riley's Dream Boy glanced in her direction. He gave her a beautiful smile and winked at her charmingly. Riley smiled back shyly and that's when the person sitting next to the young man poked her head out to see what was going on.

The moment Riley saw her, she felt all her hopes deflating like a balloon. Naturally, the girl beside him was so pretty, she was practically a supermodel! She had long golden-brown hair that cascaded over her shoulders in waves and the most intense green eyes that Riley had ever seen.

The beautiful young woman gave Riley an apologetic smile and mouthed the words, _"Sorry, mine!"_

Then as if to add insult to injury, she made a show of wrapping an arm around her boyfriend's shoulders and planting a huge, passionate kiss right on his lips.

Riley turned beetroot red and slunk back in her seat, utterly humiliated.

" _Stupid idiot! Why did you have to make it so obvious that you were staring at him?!"_ She scolded herself silently.

Then as she glanced at the rows of people in front of her, Riley noticed that the gothic punk girl that had smiled at her earlier was staring at her again. The girl shrugged her shoulders and offered Riley a sympathetic smile.

" _Oh great! She saw the whole thing too!"_ Riley thought to herself miserably as she slunk further into her seat. _"I wish I could just disappear into thin air right now…"_

Suddenly, she remembered how her dad had been watching "Air Crash Investigation" earlier today and she felt a chill roll down her spine.

" _Well maybe not disappear exactly…"_ She corrected with a shudder. _"But I wish we land soon so I can get off this plane already!"_

A few minutes later, the goth/punk rocker chick got up to use the lavatory and as she walked down the aisle, Riley finally saw what was written on her shirt properly: **_Show Your True Colors!_**

Riley looked out the window and pretended that she didn't see her as the girl passed by her seat. The next thing she knew, she felt something drop into her lap and Riley let out a startled gasp. Looking down in surprise, she saw that the girl had dropped a magazine into her lap and it was open to a page with a picture of the handsome Dream Boy and his perfect Barbie Girl! Riley stared at the picture in amazement and suddenly a sense of revelation dawned over her as she finally realized why that guy looked so familiar…

It turns out that he and his girlfriend are both models that advertise and promote a range of fashion and cosmetics in popular magazines!

" _Of course! How could I not have recognized him before?!"_ Riley thought bitterly. Then she noticed something else and she furrowed her brow in confusion. There was a small yellow post-it note stuck to the page and Riley carefully peeled it off and read the message that was scribbled on it:

" _Hi there beautiful stranger! My name is Alex. As you can see, your Dream Boy is taken, but I am free! Here's my number, so give me a call maybe…"_

Riley went red again as she finished reading the note. She glanced around nervously and quickly put the note in her pocket before anyone could see what was written on it.

" _Oh boy! I've got so much to tell Meg when I see her! This flight alone has been so eventful!"_ Riley mused reflectively. _"First I had a crush on a male model and then a girl ended up having a crush on me…"_

Without warning, the plane suddenly shook roughly as it entered a turbulent patch of air. Riley closed her eyes and gripped the armrests of her seat tightly as she thought fearfully, _"Oh no! We're going to crash!"_

The little boy in the seat behind her started crying and whimpering anxiously, "Mommy! Mommy! I'm scared! The plane is shaking!"

"It's okay honey. It's only a bit of turbulence." The boy's mother said in a soft, comforting voice. "The plane isn't shaking darling, it's actually dancing! It's a little windy outside and the plane is challenging the wind to a contest to find out who can dance better!"

The little boy seemed to calm down slightly at this explanation and his sobbing became a little quieter. Riley was feeling scared herself, but she allowed herself to draw comfort from the reassurance the mother was giving to her young son.

" _She's an adult. She probably knows what she's talking about…"_ Riley reasoned silently as she took a few deep breaths and tried to relax.

As soon as she had calmed down sufficiently, Riley gave her own mom a look of disapproval. Jill was snoring softly without a care in the world. Riley felt a little disappointed that she had slept through the turbulence instead of comforting her like the boy's mother had done with her child.

XXX

Anger had the console all to himself while the other Emotions stayed out of the room and waited for his overpowering bodily fumes to disappear. Anger didn't really mind that the others had left him in sole charge of Riley in the meantime. In fact he thought he was doing a pretty decent job watching over Riley and in the past hour, he really let his fingers do the talking at the controls!

First he made Riley feel really mad at the handsome Dream Boy and his flirtatious girlfriend for making her look like an idiot in front of the other passengers. He even made Riley feel angry with _herself_ for making it so obvious that she had been staring at Mr. Perfect in the first place!

Even Jill hadn't been spared from the cantankerous Emotion's wrath, and he had made Riley feel a small amount of contempt towards her mother for passing out and not comforting her during the turbulence!

Overall, Anger was feeling rather pleased with himself when he heard Joy's loud, authoritative voice coming from the hallway some time later.

"I am entering at my own risk! Who knows what mischief Anger has been getting up to in there over the last hour! The rest of you may follow me if you wish…" Joy announced as she entered the room cautiously.

Disgust followed her leader at a safe distance. She held a large, fancy bottle of perfume which she sprayed excessively in the air around her as she went.

Anger instantly started coughing and gagging in protest. "What is that awful smell?! That smells even worse than what I did!"

"It's called _Poison_ and it's one of the strongest fragrances I have." Disgust informed her red co-worker smugly. "After that revolting stench you created earlier, the stronger the perfume, the better!"

Sadness shuffled into the room behind Disgust, wiping the tears that were forming in the corners of her eyes with one hand. "Can you please stop spraying that perfume Disgust? It's making my eyes water…"

Fear was the last one to enter the room. The poor guy looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown! He was shivering violently and his big gray eyes stared straight ahead vacantly as he kept stuttering, "Tur-tur-turbulence…"

Suddenly, Joy let out a whoop of delight and pointed to the monitor excitedly. "Oh look everybody! I can see the lights of Minneapolis airport in the distance! We're going to be landing soon!" She exclaimed happily.

"Well the sooner, the better!" Disgust scoffed impatiently. "This whole flight has been quite an experience…" She shot a glare of contempt at Anger and emphasized, "An experience I would rather forget!"

"Oh I wish we landed already!" Fear moaned anxiously. "Actually, I wish we were already back home in San Francisco so we don't have to worry about the flight back!"

"Don't say that Fear!" Sadness sighed gloomily. "We still haven't seen Meg or our old house yet."

"Well I don't know about you guys, but I really enjoyed _everything_ about this flight and I can't wait for the return flight home!" Joy laughed as she stood watching the monitor with a huge smile of satisfaction on her face.

The other Emotions stared at their leader incredulously. None of them shared Joy's optimistic attitude, but deep down all of them agreed that this was an experience neither they nor Riley would forget anytime soon!

XXX

Riley glanced out the window and saw some tiny lights flickering in the distance. A few minutes later, she heard a beep followed by the pilot's calm, professional voice as he made an announcement over the plane's speakers.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We will be landing very shortly at Minneapolis airport. I want to thank you for choosing to fly with our airline today and I hope you all had an enjoyable flight. The outside temperature right now is…"

At this point, Riley was no longer listening to the pilot because her mom was stretching and yawning loudly beside her. Jill took off her eye shades and reached into her purse for her glasses case. Then she put her glasses back on before turning to Riley and giving her a proud hug.

"You see sweetheart? I told you there's nothing to it! When we get to the airport, you can give your dad a call and let him know that we've arrived safely!" Jill smiled and added in a softly teasing manner, "Besides, we need to check that he's been behaving himself in our absence!"

Riley nodded in agreement and took hold of her mom's hand as she waited for the plane to begin its descent.

Once the plane started descending, all the babies on board launched into their infant acapella again and their crying resounded throughout the cabin. Riley could feel her ears getting blocked again and she didn't have any gum this time, so she tried opening and closing her mouth repeatedly to help balance out the change in air pressure as the plane continued its steady descent towards the airport.

A short time later, Riley felt a distinctive thump as the plane's landing gear touched down on the runway. She looked out the window and saw that they were going so fast that the lights were flashing by in a blur and she actually started to worry whether they were going to stop in time.

But just then, she felt the plane beginning to decelerate and in no time, they were rolling towards the airport terminal at a nice gentle pace.

Once again, Riley felt the little boy behind her kicking her seat and asking his mother for the umpteenth time, "Mommy? Are we there yet?"

The boy's mother let out a deep sigh of relief and replied, "Yes Andy! This time we are!" Then her voice became very soft with affection as Riley heard her saying, "You've been such a good and brave boy! I am so proud of you darling!"

"More like a whining, annoying little pain in the butt…" Riley thought with a bemused snort. She stretched out her legs and noted that they felt a little bit weak and stiff. But she didn't mind too much. She was so excited to be back Minnesota and she couldn't wait to see Meg again!

" _It's going to be awesome! Still, I can't help wondering what adventures I'll have on the flight back to San Francisco…"_ Riley speculated with a little smile.

Suddenly, Riley remembered the piece of paper with Alex's phone number in her pocket.

" _Hmm…"_ She thought as she got out of her seat and followed her mom off the plane.

 _The End._


End file.
